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I'm an Academic Herald. I'm not a "real" herald; I don't register people's coats of arms (though I can certainly suggest designs for those who might be interested). What I do is study, research, teach, and write about heraldry. And I like to share what I have learned about heraldry, hence this blog. I hope that you'll find it informative, interesting at least occasionally, and worth your time to come back. Got a question? Comments? Feel free to let me know. I'd love to hear from you. You can find my contact information in my Profile.

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Monday, March 28, 2011

Heraldry in Florence, Part Twenty-Five

The offering for today is a series of arms set into roundels in the exterior of a church in the heart of Florence. Some are simply painted (and weathered!). Others look like they have been done in ceramic. All of them are beautifully done.

da Calamaria: Or a ram clymant sable [one armorial states that the ram is charged on the shoulder with an inescutcheon of argent a cross sable].

Agolanti: Gules an eagle displayed or.

I am not certain of the identity of these arms. The canting arms of Portinari are: Or a door between two lions combattant sable, but the arms here do not match that blazon. The field here seems to be argent; the door is argent set in a stone frame that I think is gules (red).

The paint is faded and thus the tinctures are trickier to identify. It may be Del Rosso: Vairy argent and gules, or Marchi: Vairy sable and argent.

Florence (Commune): Per pale gules and argent. (This coat is also seen as the reverse, Per pale argent and gules.)

Correspondence Jane G. has pointed out to me that these arms are not the arms of families, but guild crests. From top to bottom: 1.Guild of Butchers, Poulterers, and Fishmongers; 2. Wool Merchants; 3. Silk Merchants; 4. Vair Preparers and Furriers; and 5. Linen-weavers and Peddlers.

(That first word should, of course, be "Correspondent." Apparently I am _way_ too used to typing the word "correspondence" in my job as a legal secretary, so much so that it's automatic even when I'm trying to type a different, but similar, word.)